Improved valve for life- boats



UNITED STATES Lewis RAYMOND, or NEW YORK', Y.

IMPROVED VALVE FOR LIFE-BOATS.

Specification forming part'of Letters PatntN'ol 40,279, dated October I3, 1863.

.7b all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, LEWIS'RAYMOND, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Life- Boats; and I'do hereby declare that the fol` lowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the ac'- companying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a plan of a ball-valve and jacket turned upside down, and Fig. 2 represents a section of a portion of a selfvoiding life-boat constructed accordin g to thc principles of my improvements.

Previous to my invention life-boats have been constructed with self-actin g clack-valvcs for the purpose, ol" permitting the escape of water from their interiors, but such boats have frequently, been found to be unserviceable after being kept longI out of the water from the' rigidity of the hinges that. connectedthe' valves with their seats.

The object of the present invention is to obtain a self-voiding boat which is not liable to this defect and possesses greater etciency as a water-voider than those made heretofore.

To this end my invention consists in the combination of the shell of the boat with a` ball-val,ve, and` with a jacket within which the valve moves. By this combination a morecertain voiding of the water from the boat ltakes place than has heretofore been attained.

coupled with a more certain self-closing of the water-way by the valve, because the free passage of water around all of its sides is not obstructed by any hinge or other connection ot' the valve with the boat, 'and the freedom of movement ofthe valve in closing is not obstructed, as it is in clack-valves, by the rigidity of a hinge.

The best mode with which I am acquainted of carrying my -invention into effect is to construct the ball-valve of india-rubber and hollow, and to inclose it in a suitable jacket, such as is shown in the accompanying drawings, before combining it with the boat; also, to divide the boat into a series of waterftight compartments, each of which has a valve and jacket appertaining to it.

The valve, as represented at D in the drawings, should be perfectly spherical, and the jacket should be composed of two parts, one of which, C, forms a grating that permits the escape of water, but retains the valve. The

other part of thejacket, A, has an opening in the shell of the boat to receive the jacket.

The grate C is screwed into the partA of the jacket, and isitte'd with guide-pins l to. guide `the ball-valve in moving to and fro in the jacket. The jacket with the valve within it is secured to the shellof the boat by means of rivets or screws passed through suitable holes in the Bange B. This valve can be lapplied to any boat by dividing the bottom of the boat on the inside into water-tight sections, into which the water which is inside the boat is allowed to flow by means of an ordinary leather or wooden clapper suspended by a hinge, such clapper opening into the section.

As many'val'ves may be 'used as is desired, and each valve is placed in a watertight section. There ought always to be about eight valves, and more will be advantageousin boats intended to be used in heavy seas. The number of valves will also depend on the size of the boat.

-The valve is placed a few inches below the light water-line of the boat, and two should be placed on each side of the keel 'near the bow and stern, and the others about the bilge streaks, midships, and forward and aft of.

midships.

When the boat is entirely on an even keel, the'pressure of the water on the outside of the boat against lthe ball forces i t into /the position designated by E, and closes the opening from the inte rior of the boat.

When th' )oat is made to roll or rock to one side by th( action of the sea or other means, the water which may be in it, pressing against the clappers on the lower side, forces its way' into the watertight sections, and when the boat rolls or rocks to the otherside the clappers are closed by the pressure of the water against them, and the pressure of the water on the ball forces it into the position designated by D, and the water in the sections on the upper side ofthe boat escapes, until, by the rolling of the boat back again, the ball is forced up by the pressure of the water on the outside again into the position E, and the water -on the inside again begins to nd"its way into the sections which are now on 'thelower'side Similar valves and water-tight sections being placed on the opposite side of the boat, there will be a constant escape of water` from that side of the boat which is the most elevated.

The valves which are placed at the ends of the boat being` also provided with similar water-tight sections, arranged as above described, the water will accumulate in the bow as that plunges into the sea and will escape as it rises, and the water will accumulate in the stern as it becomes depressed and escape as it rises. y

It is obvious that a life-boat constructed with this combination will always be t for use however long it may have been out of water, because the valves lying loose in the viacketsare always free to closewheu the boat is placed in the Water. v

When it is intended to use this valve instead of a plug or plugs, merely todrain a boat when'hoisted, two valves may be used, one on each side of .and closeio the keel. When the boat is hoisted out of the lWater, the balls drop intothe position designated by D, and' any tion into effect, it is 'proper to state that I' do not claim to be the inventor of a ball-valve, but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

, The combination of the shell of the boat,

bali-valve, and jacket, substantially as de' scribed, the whole constituting a self-voiding boat.

1n testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my nam'e. LEWIS vRAY MOND.

Witnesses l E. S. RENWICK W. L. BENNEM. 

